A New Zealand Maori says if French winemakers can stop other people from using their place names such as Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, he is claiming intellectual property protection for his local hill, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
It’s a big question because the North Island peak is regarded as the longest place name in the world, according to the local Hawke’s Bay Today.
Ross Scott, who lives in nearby Porangahau, is asking the Waitangi Tribunal, a government advisory body on Maori issues, to protect it as taonga (treasure) of New Zealand’s indigenous people, the paper said.
The peak’s name is — take a deep breath — Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
Ross Scott, who lives in nearby Porangahau, is asking the Waitangi Tribunal, a government advisory body on Maori issues, to protect it as taonga (treasure) of New Zealand’s indigenous people, the paper said.
He says that in the interest of the local tribe that such treasures should be ”protected from inappropriate use, or used with our express authority to ensure we retain any benefit that is available”.
What does the name mean? ”The brow of the hill where Tamatea (the man with the big knees who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains) who travelled the land, played his flute to his loved one,” according to the Wises New Zealand Guide. — Sapa-dpa